This month’s monitoring report considers three examples from English local government of commercial initiatives intended to serve both a business and a social purpose, two of them in the energy sector and targeting a range of objectives including reducing the district’s carbon footprint, reducing costs for households and businesses, creating local jobs and generating income for the Council.
As well, two of the examples are looking at innovation in the financial sector.
After discussing the three examples this report considers whether they offer a precedent for New Zealand local government.